Meridian High School

1. Principal's Message
2. T-3 This Week
3. Special Schedule This Week
4. Spring State Assessments Continue
5. Meridian Public School Foundation Scholarship
6. Only7Seconds Event
7. Hot Lunch Menu
8. Teacher Feature
9. National Holiday
10. Daily Bell Schedule
11. Requesting Transcripts through Parchment
12. Attendance Information
13. MHS Points of Contact

“To inspire and challenge active learners to positively impact a changing world.”

As we start the month of May, we will also have our last special schedule for testing. This week's schedule is posted later in the newsletter. You will see bell schedule changes for both Tuesday and Friday this week. I want to thank our staff, students, and households for their flexibility during these days.

This week we will have a spring activities recognition assembly. It will be our first school-wide event in over two years. Our leadership students are looking forward to this opportunity. It will be interesting to watch as our freshmen and sophomores experience a live assembly for the first time.

This week also means the end of the regular season for spring sports is near. Our students have done an amazing job representing our school. The sportsmanship, effort and teamwork have been seen throughout the season. Best of luck to those who will continue on in the post season.

Other information is included in the newsletter. If there are things you have questions about, please contact me by email at dforbes@meridian.wednet.edu or by phone at 360-398-8111.

Thank you for reading and Go Trojans!

- Derek Forbes

Spring state assessments continue this week at MHS.

Our last day of school-wide testing is Tuesday. The same students who were assigned to test last Wednesday will need to test again on Tuesday.

Our Freshmen will continue their activities from 7:55 to 9:20 which include hearing from some of our seniors this week. We are excited about this opportunity for them.

For additional information about state testing:

• Smarter Balanced and WCAS Test Overview
• Try an online Smarter Balanced practice test or WCAS training test
• State Testing Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any questions about the state assessments, please contact your student's counselor.

The Meridian Public School Foundation scholarship application process is open now but don't wait to start! The due date is May 6. Go to www.meridianpublicschoolfoundation.org for the application and instructions. Questions? Please contact Mrs. Waterman at swaterman@meridian.wednet.edu.

There are several other scholarships with upcoming due dates . Be sure to check out our scholarship database HERE to see what you might qualify for. It never hurts to apply!

Each season the Northwest Conference comes together around a cause. Given all that our athletes, families, and communities are experiencing right now, our conference has decided to focus on mental health this spring. We know everyone experiences mental health and mental illness differently. This focus encourages each of us to think about what we can do to support one another.

Only7Seconds is addressing the loneliness epidemic, one connection at a time. We do this by encouraging, empowering and equipping individuals and partners to connect with people who matter in their lives and inspire their communities to do the same. Loneliness is the inability to connect in meaningful ways that give us a sense of significance and belonging. Loneliness is proven to be significantly harmful to both physical and mental health. The solution to loneliness is connection. Real, personal, vulnerable connection. In a world where connection is readily available at our fingertips, we are more disconnected than ever.

The Softball and Baseball Teams had "Only7Seconds" games this week. Teams wore green to commemorate the event. They also paused for a 7 second moment of silence as a reminder the it only takes 7 seconds to make an intentional connection.

ONLY7SECONDS IS ON A MISSION TO ADDRESS THE LONELINESS EPIDEMIC.

IT TAKES ONLY 7 SECONDS TO MAKE AN INTENTIONAL CONNECTION.

Monday - Homemade Chili

Tuesday - Mandarin Orange Chicken Bowl

Wednesday - Waffle w/Sausage

Thursday - Spicy Chicken Burger on WG Bun

Friday - Mariner Hot Dogs and Fries, Baked Beans

Other Daily Offerings May Include:

Pizza

Variety of Fresh Made Salads

Variety of Fresh Made Wraps

Deli Sandwiches

Yogurt Parfait

This is Ms. Schatz fourth year of working at Meridian High School. She says that her favorite thing about teaching at Meridian would be the size of the school and how friendly everyone is. Ms. Schatz talked about how in her high school times she had an amazing AG teacher and she always looked forward to his classes. He was always very kind and had a positive impact on her, Ms. Schatz wants to have that positive impact on her students. She also loves how different teaching is every single day. Ms. Schatz has also been a FFA advisor for the four years she's worked here. She also loves to take her horse trail riding, and has a golden retriever named Stella. This summer Ms. Schatz is getting married and she's heavily involved in doing the flower arrangements for it. Ms. Schatz' highlight from working at Meridian would be taking students to State FFA conventions, when she started out she got to take freshman and now this year she gets to take those same students as seniors. Students say that their favorite thing about Ms. Schatz is "she always wants you to succeed," "is really creative and innovative" and is "always encouraging."

Mr. Feller has been working at Meridian for eleven years and says his favorite thing about teaching here would be the kids. He says seeing them come in as skittish freshmen and then seeing them do absolutely fantastic in their senior year is amazing. Mr. Feller didn't start out wanting to teach classes like woodshop and welding, he had actually started out wanting to be a history teacher. But he didn't want to teach something that wasn't changing as much as he wanted it to be. He thought back to his high school experience and his shop classes and decided that was the way to go. He also remembered something his Grandpa had told him, he said that if he loved what he did he would never have to work a day in his life. And now he loves to be able to impart information and give back, especially since in the past he had some fantastic teachers who had shown him how to do certain things. He can carry on a tradition of giving back and he hopes that what he's doing is making a difference in the lives of his students. He also remembers something hisAlongside of his eleven years of teaching he has also been an FFA advisor; he also did FFA in high school. Mr. Feller loves to hunt, restore antique tractors, and he always does the things he teaches to his students in his own time prior to teaching them. Outside of school every August Mr. Feller does the antique tractor show in Lynden, he also teaches younger generations how people used to farm and where their food comes from. He is also working very hard building a house for his family. Mr. Feller wanted to say that he doesn't see himself leaving Meridian any time soon. The highlight from his career that he can't forget is from 2019 in April, the AG Mechanics team won state and then at the end of October they went to Nationals and got eighth. Mr. Feller thinks of it as a crowning achievement. Students say that their favorite thing about Mr. Feller is that he's "always there to help you," "is really friendly," and "is very easy to talk to."

Teacher Feature is provided by Bhavnoor Dhatt. Bhavnoor is a leadership student that will be providing the Teacher Feature as part of her personal project for Leadership class.

The 1977 release of “Star Wars” changed Hollywood forever. Four decades later we’re still enthralled. Just last December, “Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker”, was released in theaters. Following the previous two movies of the sequel trilogy, “The Force Awakens” and “The Last Jedi”, the main Star Wars film franchise has come to a conclusion. So — Happy Star Wars Day this May 4!

Meridian High School has partnered with parchment.com to fulfill transcript requests for current students and MHS alumni. Transcripts are securely sent electronically to colleges and universities across the nation, resulting in a reduction of lost documents at the financial aid offices. The service is free of charge to current students. Alumni pay a small fee. Please make sure that your intended college accepts electronic transcripts.

Please find the “Order transcripts through Parchment” link under Families & Students/Resources on the MHS website. Current students may call Mrs. Brinkman or Mrs. Waterman to receive their Parchment access code at the MHS office 360-398-8111.

Being present in class is vital to be successful in school. We want to encourage all of our students to be at school every day! If you are missing school, you are missing out on learning!

If your kids miss a day or even part of a day of school for whatever reason, please contact our attendance secretary, Mrs. McMains by either phone (360-318-2260) or email (tgmcmains@meridian.wednet.edu)with the reason for the absence. If they are going to miss because of an illness, please call or email in the morning and let us know! If there is a planned absence, please contact her and she will take care of notifying teachers. If she is unable to answer the phone right at that moment, please feel free to leave the information on her voicemail.

Website-www.meridian.wednet.edu/mhs

The homepage has access to recent news.

Meridian School District on Social Media

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/meridianschooldistrict505/

Instagram: @meridianschooldistrict505

Twitter: @meridian505

The Meridian School District does not discriminate in any programs or activities on the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following employee has been designated to handle questions and complaints of alleged discrimination: Title IX, ADA, and Compliance Coordinator (RCW 28A.640/28A.642) Kurt Harvill, Director of Personnel, 214 W. Laurel Rd., Bellingham WA 98226. 360-398-7111. Section 504 questions

Derek Forbes, Principal: dforbes@meridian.wednet.edu

Shaun Doffing, Assistant Principal:

sdoffing@meridian.wednet.edu

Cheryl McBride, Counselor A-J: cmcbride@meridian.wednet.edu

Don McMains, Counselor K-Z: dmcmains@meridian.wednet.edu

Tami McMains, Attendance: tgmcmains@meridian.wednet.edu

Robin Brinkman, Registration: rbrinkman@meridian.wednet.edu

Chromebook Tech Support: chromebook@meridian.wednet.edu